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Parksville hockey heist victims use phone app to trace stolen items

Oceanside RCMP arrested a man suspected of taking items from arena change rooms after victims tracked him using a “find my phone” app to trace a stolen phone.
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Oceanside RCMP arrested a man suspected of taking items from arena change rooms after victims tracked him using a “find my phone” app to trace a stolen phone.

Oceanside RCMP arrested a man suspected of taking items from arena change rooms after victims tracked him using a “find my phone” app to trace a stolen phone.

Police said such things as phones, wallets and a backpack went missing while adult hockey players were on the ice at Parksville’s Oceanside Park Arena. The thief struck twice in one night, police said.

The phone app led the victims to a wooded area in Parksville, where a man was found camping alone. They asked for their items back and they were returned, except for cash that had been in one of the wallets.

Police looked at surveillance footage at the arena and recognized the suspect. They went to the campsite and arrested a Parksville man.

Vincent Powley, 60, was arrested. He was sentenced Wednesday in Nanaimo provincial court to 45 days in jail.